Snow-white beaches, rolling hills, and pristine natural environments—these were the pillars that propped up the tourism industry on the island of Bohol.
Though the earthquake has trimmed 40 percent off the tourism-related economy, residents remain optimistic. They believe that nothing can take away their happiness if they themselves don’t give up hope.
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More than a thousand small hills like the one to the far right dot Bohol. They turn brown during the summer, hence their name: the “Chocolate Hills.” These natural wonders are one reason that the island is often referred to as the Jewel of the Philippines. Primitive in many respects, the island lacks modern machinery. In the foreground of the picture, a farmer plows his field the old-fashioned way—with the help of a water buffalo. |
When Tzu Chi decided to build prefabricated classrooms in the aftermath of the tremor that hit Bohol in October 2013, the local schools and communities knew they needed to mobilize to help out.
The frames of the prefabricated classrooms would be assembled on site and erected on platforms of concrete flooring bricks laid on level ground. In all, 150 classrooms would sit on about 100,000 such bricks. As a result, much work was required to prepare the ground for the new classrooms. The ground itself needed to be cleared and leveled, and cement, sand, gravel, and water needed to be mixed into concrete for the flooring bricks. A total of 5,000 villagers volunteered to work on the project.
Patricio Teneza and his wife, Venus Roxas Teneza, were among the volunteers. They lived in the town of Cortes and tended a stall outside Infant King Academy. Faith Teneza, their daughter, attended Cortes Central Elementary School nearby.
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Patricio Teneza, right, and his wife, Venus, tend their snack stall. |
The couple sold fried pancakes, which they made with flour and butter. Their pancakes were very popular. They made about 200 each day and quickly sold out. They also sold drinks and other snacks. The couple typically earned more than 600 pesos (US$13.60) a day, better than most residents on the island made.
The couple’s regular life became much busier in April 2014, as preparation got underway for the construction of prefabricated classrooms at 16 local schools. The two of them volunteered for the classroom project six days a week, Mondays through Saturdays. She mixed concrete, and he laid concrete bricks and moved heavy things. “For the sake of the children’s education, we didn’t miss a day of work,” they said. They believed schools were so important that everyone in the town should get involved.
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Venus, Patricio, and their daughter, Faith, volunteer to help build classrooms. |
In June 2014, the materials for the prefabricated classrooms arrived at Cortes Central Elementary School, ahead of the volunteers from Taiwan. Those volunteers were scheduled to arrive a little later to teach local helpers how to assemble the structures, but Patricio Teneza and other volunteers in the town could not wait. They were more than enthusiastic and anxious to get the classrooms completed. After all, they had been waiting for this day for a long time. The excited townsfolk helped themselves to the newly arrived parts and assembled them the best they could, for as long as they could. They worked all day for two days in a row, not quitting until after midnight each day.
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Patricio Teneza, left, works with another volunteer to assemble the frame of a prefabricated classroom. |
The Taiwanese volunteers arrived at the school two days after the locals started putting the parts together. They were pleasantly surprised to see that so much work had already been done. The community residents had already screwed together the metal frames for seven classrooms. The frames had been erected into shape and were standing on their concrete brick platforms when the volunteers arrived.
The Tzu Chi volunteers appreciated the enthusiasm of the local residents, even though they had made some mistakes in assembling the frames and the Taiwanese volunteers had to spend some time fixing them. “The people here did very well,” said volunteer Qiu Xiang-shan (邱祥山) with admiration. “Without training and without any instructions, they managed to put up all those frames themselves.”
Contented folks
Bohol has a population of over one million people. Many islanders make a living by fishing. They make their own small boats, go out to sea at night, and sell their catch at the market early in the morning. There are also many islanders who grow fruit and vegetables. Still others work in the tourism industry. Bohol’s beaches, its Chocolate Hills (numerous limestone mound formations), and its pristine natural scenery have made the island a popular tourist destination.
Another source of income is weaving nipa palm leaves. Woven leaves are often used on the island to make roofs for homes. The plants are abundant, and the roofs made with them are durable and functional in keeping out the rain and leaving the interior airy and cool. This, however, is not the easiest way to make a living. Because the plants grow in soft mud and tidal and river waters, it takes a lot of work to gather the leaves. They can nick fingers and hands if not handled carefully during weaving, and the products do not fetch much money.
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A Boholano family makes roofing pieces with nipa palm leaves. Many people make these at home for sale. |
There are no big factories on the island, and no buildings taller than eight stories, even in downtown areas. No major grocery chains have set up shops here, because the islanders don’t have enough income to support such businesses. On average, about eight out of ten people earn a daily wage of only 200 pesos (US$4.50).
Despite all this, the islanders are a content people. They rarely complain about their lot in life, even if they receive less than the minimum wage from their employers. They live simply.
Jack Gaisano (施嘉驛), a Tzu Chi volunteer, runs more than 40 grocery stores in Manila and Cebu. Many of his employees come from Bohol. “They have hearts of gold, work hard, and do whatever they’re assigned,” Gaisano said of those employees. He knows about the low wages prevalent on the island. “Jobs are hard to find there, so locals accept whatever they’re given.”
With such a restricted job market, more than half of the college graduates from this island choose to seek employment in Cebu, Manila, or even abroad. Those that have left the island for work have become a source of funds in the post-quake rebuilding effort; many locals have no other means of rebuilding their homes than relying on the money sent back by those working elsewhere.
Under these circumstances, residents in the disaster area are very grateful to Tzu Chi for providing prefabricated classrooms for schools damaged in the quake.
Just a beginning
Venus Teneza, who owned the pancake stall outside the Infant King Academy with her husband, Patricio, was a native of Bohol. Now 36, she remembered her classroom when she was a first grader at Cortes Central Elementary School. It was a brand-new classroom then, but the earthquake left it dangerous and unfit for occupancy. “That’s sad,” she said, but then she smiled as she pointed to the school: “But now the school has new buildings—those seven prefabricated classrooms provided by Tzu Chi.”
Venus not only helped construct the prefabricated classrooms at her alma mater, but she enlisted the help of her parents and daughter too. In addition, the family of five attended the training courses Tzu Chi held on the island for people interested in volunteering for the foundation. Venus learned that were it not for donations from loving people around the world, the foundation would not have been able to make the 150 classrooms a reality on the island.
Venus and her husband sustained substantial losses in the earthquake. The concrete house that they had saved for three years to build was badly damaged. Yet so far, the two of them have not received any monetary aid or subsidies for construction materials from any organization, public or private. The couple and their daughter have been forced to live with Venus’ parents until they can save enough money to fix and restore their own home.
Many other families were similarly affected by the tremor. A lot of people were still living in roadside tents, even eight months after the quake. In addition to constructing classrooms, Tzu Chi volunteers visited areas damaged by the quake to learn about what other help they could give.
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Many victims still live in tents, eight months after the earthquake. Volunteer Ferdinand Dy, left, visits one of the tents. |
During one of their visits, they met Marvic Pino. She was 14 years old, but still attending elementary school.
Pino had seven younger siblings, but due to their poverty, only she and her ten-year-old sister were able to attend school. That sister was a live-in domestic helper—she worked to earn money so that she could go to school. Their father was a poor fisherman. He simply could not afford to send more of his children to school.
They lived by a river in a shanty which was situated so low that high tide covered the floor. The worst part about the hut was that it was in a dangerous mudslide zone. But what could they do? For families as poor as the Pinos, relocating to a safer place simply was not an option. Even without the earthquake, life was not easy.
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Marvic Pino, 14, left, at home with her family. Only her ten-year-old sister, a live-in domestic helper, is away. Though the family lives a materially deprived life, they take it in stride and face life with optimism. |
It was noon when Tzu Chi volunteers came to visit them. They saw the family’s lunch on their dining table: streamed rice made with rice that the foundation had distributed earlier. No other food was present.
To help needy families like the Pinos, Tzu Chi volunteers planned to carry out more charity work on Bohol. Their aid to the island will not end with those 150 prefab classrooms.
Closer family, closer community
Although Venus was raised in Bohol, Patricio was born in northern Philippines. They met some years ago when both were working in Manila. He was a security guard at a factory and she, with a college degree, was an accountant.
One day she went to make a deposit at a bank, and someone attempted to rob her with a knife. Though she emerged from the incident entirely unhurt, she was thoroughly scared, so much so that she gave up her well-paying job and moved back to Bohol. Patricio went with her, and they were married there.
Patricio had worked in Manila for ten years. He pointed out that the pay was indeed better in large cities such as Manila, but it was hard to put away money, much less buy a home. In Bohol, the two of them were able to save enough money to build a house of their own just three years after they had moved to the island. More and more, they felt that Bohol was home.
Though their home is now damaged and they cannot yet rebuild it, they remain optimistic. They are facing life with equanimity. On school days, Venus walks to Cortes Central Elementary School at noon to fetch her daughter, Faith. The two of them walk to the pancake stall outside the Infant King Academy to join Patricio. They cook up something simple, and the family eats together. After lunch, Faith returns to school. Venus again picks her up at five o’clock, when school lets out, and they walk home together.
This has seemingly been their daily routine forever, but that routine—of regularity and predictability—became more precious after the ravages of the earthquake. Having experienced life’s impermanence, the mother and daughter now cherish their time together more, and have become closer as a result.
The earthquake impacted many islanders’ lives. According to statistics, more than 200 people were killed and over 30,000 buildings were damaged. Coming from far away, Tzu Chi volunteers tried to help disaster areas with the construction of prefab classrooms. In the process, something good happened among community residents which the volunteers were happy to see—the project has brought them closer together. By participating in the project, multitudes of people worked together, sweated together, and felt part of the community together. As a result, they became tighter. “We see each other every day, and our camaraderie is stronger than ever before,” Venus concluded, laughing wholeheartedly.
An earthquake may topple buildings and take lives, but it cannot crush the spirit of people. Life may be affected for some time, but it will return to normal. With their optimism and resilience, local people have faith in this.
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